Sakura Of The Puppet Limbs
by Follower of Mania
Summary: "Dear I'm afraid you can no longer be a Shinobi." When Sakura is found near death outside Suna, she's given a new life. Now she has to deal with only having one arm and one leg. But of course that wont stop her. With her two new friends at her side this Cripple plans on taking on the world one Village at a time! Gaara/Sakura (There is Character Death)
1. Prolog

**(A/N) So first multi-chap fic! YAY! Anyways this story is yet another sakura get stronger plot line.**

**Just in case you didn't realize you were on a fan fiction site, I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

A splash of pain,

A roar of sorrow,

Blood so, so much BLOOD,

I can't feel anything,

What's happening to me?!

Why can't I feel?

Why can't I move?

What happened?

And then the world faded to black as one Haruno Sakura passed out from shock.

* * *

White; Why is there so much white? What happened to the red? Where am I? What's going on? How did I end up here? Where is here?

It was then that my ears picked up the shallow beeping of a heart monitor. I brilliantly deduced that I was in a hospital. I tried to open my eyes up wider, or even to move my head, but disappointingly it appeared I was unable to. I tried to glance over to the heart monitor to at least make sure SOME part of me was under my own command but nothing was working.

A nurse came in then, with a face full of pity. Whom the pity was for was either me or some other person in this room. But as I detected only one round of annoying beeping, the later option was quickly discarded.

Thus, as the pitying face gazed down at my immobile form, I tried to figure out exactly why she would be feeling pity for me. Then, my earlier failure to move came to mind, so I stopped thinking and simply waited for what she was going to do.

"Hello dear," The nurse was starting to get on my nerves with how slow she was being, "Do you know where you are?"

I tried to answer, but all that came out was something that sounded vaguely like "Urggletterscletch" But as I don't really know what that would sound like in actuality, it just sounded weird.

"I'm sorry, I forgot that you couldn't move." The nurse seemed to find this fact incredibly funny, and I attempted to glare at her but disappointingly, my body **WASN'T MOVING. **"Well I might as well explain the damage. You see you were found outside the gates of Suna two weeks ago. Your injuries were extensive. They include your left leg and right arm being shredded to the point of meat soup. Various cuts and bruises across your torso and other leg as well as a break in your left arm. Both your shoulders had been dislocated and your nose was broken. Several alternatively deep and shallow cuts littered your face and scalp.

We don't know why you were; in such a horrible state your doctor believes that you were tortured. Now I don't know why such a young girl such as yourself was doing, to make some hurt you this badly. But I'm just going to tell you this straight. Your injuries on your left leg and right were so bad that we had to amputate below your left knee and right elbow. If you wanted to become a shinobi...I'm sorry, darling but that is no longer a possibility for you."

As my mind attempted to keep up with all the new knowledge that had been shoved into my brain; I heard those horrible, ugly, last sentences. Just like that the steady beeping in the heart monitor began to speed up, and tears began to slide uncontrollably down my face.

Once again that horrible nurse just had to open her mouth again, "As for why you're not moving, it's because we couldn't risk you moving around and possibly injure yourself, or going hysterical from not being able to feel your right arm and left leg. So your doctor had to temporarily paralyzed you."

It was then that the nurse seemed to notice that yes, I was having a major breakdown.

She quickly grabbed a needle from beside my bed, that seemed to have been specially prepared for this breakdown, and jabbed it into my upper arm. I felt dizzy for a while, as whatever was in the concoction was run through my system, before once again; my world was consumed by darkness.

But before it all faded away, I felt sorrow. For a life lost. For friends lost. And most importantly for a career that had been torn from me.

* * *

Little did I know that this was far from the end.

* * *

**Yes I know it's a short chapter, but it's just the beginning!**

**Like? Hate? Well no matter what share your opinion with the cute little box labelled 'review'**

**~ FoM**


	2. Chapter 1

**(A/N) Well here it is folks. The second chapter! Horray!**

**Btw if you hadn't guessed yet, I don't own Naruto. **

_Thoughts_

Normal Speak

* * *

When I came to after the horrible nurse had injected me with that weird needle I was extremely startled to find an old woman leaning over the side of my bed staring intently down at me.

As I blinked frantically to prove my surprise, she pulled back and levered a glare in my direction.

_"Stupid Nurse. Stupid Doctor. Stupid inability to move." _I thought to myself angrily.

I attempted to ask the old woman what she was doing here. But once again my body failed me.

"Eh, you're lucky I was in a good mood yesterday, kid," the old woman said, startling me out of my boring thoughts of helplessness, "And that said good mood carried over to today.

Let me make this short and simple. You currently have two options. The first is to live the rest of your life either with a peg leg or in a wheel chair. You wouldn't be able to be a shinobi and all regular activities would become twice as hard. The other is for you to impress me. If I am impressed well, I guess we'll know if you do."

At this the old woman turned away and sat in one of the nearby hospital chairs. She stared at me as I mulled over all of this new information in my head.

Once I was done mulling, I put more thought into how I could impress her. I closed my eyes as ideas frantically started calling out to me, before I threw them in the volcano of worthlessness, or discarded them. There honestly wasn't much I could do at the moment.

It was then that an idea stepped out of the shadows and revealed itself. Inwardly, because there currently wasn't any outwardly, I smiled. I remembered, from some far off part of my mind, a scroll; said scroll-containing information on chakra.

I clenched my eyes even further shut to concentrate.

It felt like hours went by with me just sitting there and concentrating on finding that energy. Then I felt it. Nothing but a twitch but containing so much meaning. I felt it growing from within my stomach. Then the flow overcame me. Sending me down and down deep within the power. I could feel this insane power on all sides.

The power was moving twisting and twirling, writhing, and swirling to an uncontrollable beat. All around me it was like a thousand winds twirling. I would try to touch it but then the power would dance away.

I tried to grab it, to force it closer me. But the flow didn't want that. It resisted, backing away from my reach. Then I understood, you couldn't go against the flow.

So I twisted away. As I twisted I grabbed a strand of the power. And then I led it on its way. Dancing through the walls of this channel I brought that thin thread of power with me, a roaring wave following in its wake. I danced and danced until I reached my final destination.

As I opened my eyes my hand glowed. I felt the power circling, and concentrated on centering it in my fingers. The glow on my palm calmed down to a gentler hue and my fingers lit up like fireflies. Besides me I heard the old woman startle in shock. Almost immediately afterwards she stilled again. But I knew that she had been surprised. In fact I too was surprised.

For I had just formed chakra strings.

**(A/N) Well that's all folks! And I'm sorry for another short chapter I'll try to make them longer from this point on...oh and...**

**BOOYA! CLIFFY!**

**~FoM**


	3. Chapter 2

**(A/N) Heres yet another chapter! And we finally get to know who the old woman is!**

**Also for those wondering Sakura is currently 5 years old. While yes I know she isn't acting like a normal five year old, I have my reasons for writing her like this.**

**_"Deep Chasm"_**

_"Thoughts"_

"Normal Speech"

**In case you didn't know I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

I could feel the old woman staring at my hand in shock. In fact I too was staring down at my remaining hand in shock.

"Ha, kid you've got potential I'll give you that. You've impressed me. So I would like to make you an offer.

Either you become my apprentice. If you chose so I'll teach you how to control puppets and make your own puppet limbs. Or I make you puppet limbs and then you leave. You never come back to Sunagakure and become either a shinobi of another village or a missing-nin. I'll come back once the paralysis has worn off in 6 hours. Make the right choice kid. Oh, and good luck."

With that the elderly woman left, without even telling me her name.

For a while my mind was blank. Then the torrent of images and words came back. Mentally I weighed the options.

_"On one hand I can learn the art of puppetry and make myself my own arms. But then on the other I can have my own puppet arms specially made and then become free to learn from another teacher. Or better yet I can join a different village. _

_Then again there probably isn't another puppetry master willing to take me as an apprentice anywhere else. _

_I would accept her offer but I think I'll find better solace elsewhere. Maybe it's for the best if I don't learn puppetry, there are other skills. _

_But then again…. Maybe some sleep will help me solve this conundrum." _

With that I once again relaxed myself to the warm surrender of sleep.

* * *

As I blearily reopened my eyes to be confronted by the blinding white, I made my decision.

That's I felt it.

Like a fire racing through my veins pain returned. A grunt escaped me, as the pain grew stronger.

While the power was a torrent of water, this was a sea of flames. The pain danced. But it wasn't beautiful; it was crude and lacked the power's originality.

The pain struck while the power ran. The pain pushed you down while the power pushed you up. Total opposites yet still the same.

My head throbbed and my heart burst. My leg was pained to the point of screams and my arm seemed to be in a haze. But in my stomach I knew it was the worst.

My stomach churned almost like a storm. Thunder rumbling from it's clouds. A grunt escaped my lips as the pain began to fade.

Slower than a turtle the pain sank away into the deep chasm that absorbed all the bad. A deep chasm in my heart, that was slowly turning it black.

Then it was gone completely and I took a breath. My hand twitched. That was it. My first movement since my hospitalization and it's a twitch.

But in that moment as my hand twitched and I began to move once more, I was happy. I was so incredibly happy that I nearly missed the old woman entering the room.

My head snapped over to truly take in the woman for the first time. She was old but I already knew that. She had her graying hair up in a bun with a headband over the front. She wore a black robe. It was then that a flash came to me.

From deep in that chasm a bit of knowledge arose.

Like a flash I heard a voice that sounded familiar, but still the memory was far away.

**_"Meet Chiyo-Basama. She'll be looking after you for today."_**

I muzzled over this for a while before deciding that it wasn't of importance at the moment.

I looked at the woman apparently called Chiyo. Both of us stared at the other as we waited for them to begin.

"Have you made your choice brat?" said Chiyo breaking the silence.

"Of course." I responded lazily.

"Then what do you wish to do?"

"I wish to learn puppetry."

"Very well. I will return in a few days time."

With that, Chiyo left. She walked briskly out the door and I wondered if I even knew her at all. But then the logical side of my brain set in and said that no, I didn't know her.

And I probably never would, as Shinobi are master actors.

And to them everything is just another act.

* * *

**(A/N) Well that's all folks! **

**But first a warm thanks to Aidan, onecsm, amb1337, silverwolfigther00, 4fireking, suigin, and professional ninja for reviewing :)**

**~FoM**


	4. Chapter 3

**(A/N) After this chapter we'll have a time skip. I can't tell you to where because that would be spoiler :) But now we can progress out into the world of shinobi! YAY!**

**Incase you didn't get the message the numerous times I have said it, I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

The days after Chiyo had tested me were spent playing with the power. I would dive deep down into myself before rising back up and moving the power around my body.

I've found out that when I add power to my hand and foot in a certain way it would stick to things. But I'm still working on getting the power to other parts of my body, such as my elbow, knee, nose and chest.

I've made some progress but I currently don't have anything to test this new discovery on. It's very hard to walk around with only one leg.

I'd also spent some time trying to find out what that deep dark chasm in my heart was. I can honestly say that my search had no results.

And now something felt special about today. I could feel my anticipation rising for no absolute reason. I practiced my sticking power in my hand for a few minutes.

As I released the power from my hand I looked up to see Chiyo in the doorway.

"I knew you were a quick learner kid. I just never thought you were that quick! But anyways I've made you a starter set of limbs. They're just to help you learn before you actually make your own." With that Chiyo came over and took out a scroll. With a flurry of actions that I couldn't follow she unsealed the scroll.

A puff of smoke billowed out of the scroll before drifting away. Under the smoke appeared a regular looking arm and leg.

"I'll have to knock you unconscious for this to work. This technique will make it so you can attach and detach your puppet limbs at will. They will be wired into your brain with chakra so that it will be as if you've had them all your life. Also the puppet limbs will function as normal limbs would.

But please note that they will not grow with you. So you'll need to build new ones as you grow." Chiyo spoke as if she was a robot.

I know that this is most likely because of the fact that this is a very serious operation. And also because she wasn't telling me something. I put that off as simply something personal.

I closed my eyes as her power invaded my system and knocked me out.

* * *

I could feel myself drifting. It was like I was floating up to the top a body of water.

Getting closer and closer I could see white light reflecting off the water. It was then that I broke through the surface and dizzily came back to consciousness.

The first thing I noticed was that I felt _different_ in some way. Not in the way you would feel different after a haircut but in the way that you would feel after unlocking a power deep within yourself.

It felt like I was stronger. But then I was more vulnerable at the same time. Like suddenly everything was possible.

I liked the new feeling a lot.

I looked around then to find out why this feeling existed. And as I glanced downward I got my answer. For instead of my usual two limbs I now had four. The numerous bandages that had littered my body were gone and in their place was a black shirt and shorts.

I lifted up my left hand in amazement. I turned it around and flexed it to see the limits of what it could do. There was no difference. My left hand acted just the same as my right.

I looked further down and saw my right leg. I lifted it slowly off the bed before lifting the left with it. Twisting over I put them over the side of the hospital bed.

I slowly moved myself closer to the edge using _both_ of my arms, puppet and human. Then I pressed downward. My feet met the cold floor and I shivered.

I could feel the cold through both legs. I grinned as I slowly put more and more weight on my legs. Slowly I stood.

I was going to become a shinobi. And I was going to be a good one. I would learn all I could from Chiyo before getting another teacher. And I know exactly what I _wasn't _going to be.

And so upon my own future sweat, blood and tears, I made myself a promise.

* * *

I would never be weak again.

* * *

**(A/N) Hope you guys like this chapter! And thanks to everyone for reviewing :)**

**~FoM**


	5. Chapter 4

**(A/N) here'the he fourth chapter! And I hope this answered some questions. Btw Sasori will be mentioned but wait for answers! **

* * *

I woke up, a year after my stay in the hospital, to a rush of memories.  
I remembered the happiness of walking with my new leg for the first time. I remembered how Chiyo started to tell me bedtime stories every night. Most of them about her years as a ninja and her grandson, Sasori.  
I remembered learning how to fight with puppets, and making my own limbs for the first time.  
I remembered how much I had grown and learned in just a year.  
And I also remembered the friends I made. I remembered seeing a little red-haired boy sitting in a sandbox. And I also remembered when I became his friend.

* * *

_Flashback_

* * *

_I was walking through the park by myself. I had just installed a new arm and leg and I was testing them out. These were my first fighting legs, armed up to the skin with secret compartments and weapons.  
I saw the other kids playing with a ball near the playground. I ignored them and continued on.  
My eyes caught sight of a small boy. He was sitting in the sandbox all by himself.  
He was slowly making forms out of the sand before destroying them and starting over again.  
It was then that the kids I had ignored earlier rolled the ball over into the sandbox. I watched with interest as the boy picked up the ball and held it out to the other kids.  
I watched with shame as those kids ran away like he was a monster. As those kids ran from him like they did from me.  
Slowly I walked over to him. A smile lit up my face as I approached him. He was around my age. I watched the way the wind ran through his hair as tears slid down his depressed face.  
"Don't worry about them. They're just bullies." I said to him. Watching as for a brief moment fear ran across his face before it settled into mild curiosity and distrust. He looked at me in a guarded manner that made my blackening heart hurt._  
_"Who are you? I haven't seen you before." He asked quietly._  
_"Haruno Sakura. And you are?"_  
_"G-Gaara… but most people call me Sabaku no Gaara."_  
_"Nice to meet you Gaara! Do you want to play with me? I saw what you were doing with the sand and wanted to join you!"_  
_Gaara's face lit up like a Christmas tree at those words. "Sure!"_  
_I smiled at him as the both of us settled down in the sand to play._  
_From that day forth we were friends. We ate together, trained together, laughed together and even ran from the villagers together._  
_I taught him how to control himself and he taught me how to lose control of myself._

* * *

_Flashback End_

* * *

Next I thought about how strong I had become.  
Chiyo had told me I was almost strong enough to be in my last year at the academy. My intelligence told me I was already strong enough to beat a gennin.  
Chiyo had taught me more about the power. I learned that the power is actually called chakra. I also learned how to channel that chakra to every part of my body.  
I had learned much more but currently my brain was blank on that matter.  
Chiyo introduced me to a jounin named Baki one day and from then on he taught me, and the kazekage's children, important ninjutsu and taijutsu.  
Temari and Kankuro were fun but honestly a little overwhelming. I preferred to play with Gaara in the sandbox.  
The two of us spent a lot of time together training. For both of us wished to be stronger. Gaara to protect himself and me to never be weak. I  
With both Baki and Chiyo teaching me I grew stronger still.  
My musings were interrupted then by Chiyo throwing open my door and splashing me with a bucket of water. I was used to this routine so I chased her out the door and downstairs to the kitchen where she sat eating breakfast with the innocent bucket sitting nearby.  
Chiyo was a playful woman as I had quickly learned. She enjoyed playing tricks and pranks on those who didn't expect them.  
Chiyo shoved me out the door after breakfast so I wouldn't be late for Baki's training.  
I ran down th streets of Suna kicking up dust that got stuck to my all black set of pants and t-shirt. Overtop of those drab articles of clothing I wore a tan trench coat. I had quickly learned not to wear short sleeves. After all sunburns were great motivators.  
I quickly arrived at the training grounds where Baki thought us to find that, as usual, I was late.  
As I arrived Baki told us to do our warm up. Which consisted of so laps I could feel even my puppet leg turning to jello.  
After the large number of laps Baki assigned us into our usual groups if two. I was paired with Gaara while Temari and Kankuro were forced to cooperate simi peacefully once again.  
Together Gaara and I worked on Taijutsu. While Gaara and I couldn't spar because of his protective sand barrier, we could practice katas and fight Gaara's sand clones.  
Currently we are both trying to find a taijustsu style that suites our skills. Until then we practiced standard Suna academy styles. Most of this style was based upon moving quickly like the wind to strike and block while twirling like a cloud away from attacks.  
Personally I just thought you looked like a sandstorm.  
And that was precisely why Gaara and I decided to make our own style. And we already had the base all lied out.  
I felt content with my life.  
But little did I know that it was not meant to last.

* * *

**(A/N) That's all folks!**

**~FoM**


	6. Chapter 5

**(A/N) I'm sorry that this took so long to write. I hope you enjoy this chapter! It's my longest one to date!**

**I don't own Naruto. **

**Btw parts of this chapter are told from the pov. of future Sakura.**

_"Future Sakura"_

**_"Yelled Words"_**

"Normal Speech"

* * *

_There are times in our lives that change us. They form us into who we will come to be. Today's events deserve to be remembered as more than the death of the uncle of my best and only friend._

_Even now years into the future I can remember that specific day as the turning point. The day where both his black heart and my blackening heart combined. _

_It was on this day that together we swore on the scars upon our faces that we would love only ourselves and grow strong to prove our worth. _

_We would prove that the demon and the cripple could rule. Together we would show __**EVERYONE**__ precisely why we were to be feared._

_If I hadn't been crippled. If I hadn't met Gaara. If I hadn't been in Suna that day._

_I would have been a different person. _

_I wouldn't have killed. Maybe I wouldn't have become a ninja at all. _

_I would probably cower in the presence of Gaara and the strong. I wouldn't have experienced the __**PAIN **__of __**BETRAYAL.**_

_Maybe if I hadn't been there that night, I would of run too. Just as those civilians ran from us as together we killed thousands. _

_There are so many what ifs and maybes that revolve around my current situation. But none of them can be proven. _

_None of my questions can be answered now. _

_For that day changed our paths. _

_It formed us into who we are today._

* * *

Not a drift of sand moved before the change. The night was preparing itself for the gleeful bounty of kin's blood that was to be drawn.

For tonight is **THE NIGHT**. Today as the sand finally shifts so will the future.

Konohagakure will lose its Cherry Blossom tonight.

And Sunagakure will trade a pariah and a cripple for two demons of their own right.

Today the world will watch in shame as kin turn on kin.

Today the Hidden Village of the Sand will die.

And be reborn with the sun as the Hidden Village of the Bloody Sand. For now the Bloody Mist would have a partner.

The world is dreary as the night slides by.

Shadows fall lightly on two small children. Together they sit atop a building bathed by moonlight.

Silently a third crept up behind the two dreadfully distracted children.

One sat further away from the other, as if an unseen force is separating them.

"I wish we could sit closer together Gaara-kun," A childish and definitely girlish voice whispered into the wind.

"Sakura-Chan you know that my sand doesn't allow that…" An equally childish but male voice replied.

"I know…it was a foolish wish."

A soft sigh was heard before the attack. A soft sigh was all that warned the attacker of the danger he was in.

He missed the signal; creepily he struck.

Almost immediately sand rose up from the dusty rooftop absorbing the glittering kunai into their grasp. Gaara and Sakura turned together to see the treat.

A man stood behind them wearing the usual Suna ANBU uniform with a sheet covering his face and a hat atop his head.

Horror and fright coursed through the almost victims veins as they watched the sand.

The two children saw the man as a threat and treated him as such.

Sakura jumped over so that she was standing in front of Gaara and stood in her puppet stance.

Swinging her right arm and left leg loosely her brain flipped a switch. Almost like magic, compartments rose from the limbs and made themselves known. Sakura grinned happily as this would be the first time she actually got to use her puppet limbs in a**_ REAL _**fight.

Behind her Gaara raised a hand and watched with glee as the sand answered his call.

The sand pulled itself towards him and formed a ring around his feet.

Feeling in control of the situation the two watched the man form hand seals and multiply himself by two.

Faster than the eye could track Gaara reacted.

Bringing his hand forward he pushed the sand towards the man. Afterwards he lifted his hand upwards, bringing the sand with it. The sand followed its rulers command and surrounded the would-be assassin.

Without even contemplating the consequences the innocent boy closed his fist and watched as the sand crushed the assassin.

Sakura watched silently knowing that this assassin was **_DIFFERENT _**somehow.

Gaara brought his hand back silently drawing the sand to its master. The sand dropped the body as it went.

Suddenly the rush of adrenalin from the fight dropped away and they realized what they had **_DONE_** for they had just killed a man.

Neither of one blamed the other, as they both would have reacted the same. Even though Gaara took the initiative first.

Silently shaking in unison the two approached the body of their victim. Both squatted on one side of the body. It was with a trembling hand that Gaara reached out and pulled down the mask.

Beneath the mask lay a treasured man to both.

To the cripple he was the one whom did not laugh.

He had watched her with a smile and encouragement as she trained herself to **_WALK _**on her own.

He had loved her when even Chiyo had been lacking. It had felt as though even with all her many faults he had **_LOVED_** her.

It wasn't the love of a lover but rather the love of a beloved uncle. His betrayal broke her blackened heart.

And to the demon he was the uncle that loved him, as his father couldn't. He was the one who wouldn't betray him as his father had.

He had been there, before even Sakura, to give him a shoulder to cry on.

He had guarded and defended him from his **_FATHER'S_** wrath.

To him he was a role model to be looked up to and adored. He was his father more than his uncle and everyone could see it.

His betrayal broke his hope and shattered his black heart.

For beneath the murderer's mask lay Yashamaru with a smirk on his face.

Sakura and Gaara felt the tears sliding down their faces at the unmasking of this assassin.

Gaara felt anger rolling within his stomach.

His childish face twisted in fury as he asked "**_WHY! _** Why did you do it! Why did you try?"

"Because…because you took my sister. You **_MURDERED_** her!"

"Wha-what do you mean?" Gaara asked in reply to the nearly dead man.

Sakura sat off to the side. Her face betraying her feelings of anger. She didn't feel it necessary to speak at the moment. For Gaara would ask all she needed to know.

"I never **_LOVED _**you foolish boy. Nobody can love a **_DEMON _**except himself! Your mother knew this even as **_YOU_** killed her! It's in your name! You're a demon that can only love itself. I…never loved you. It was always…always fake," As the dying man died his words slowed. Blood began to dribble from his mouth as he spoke.

With that final declaration of hatred Yashamaru died. He died with a cruel smile on his face.

Gaara glared down at the dead man in silent hatred. With a roar of fury he glanced upward and roared out his sorrow.

Sakura glanced over at him then.

"Gaara-kun…I'm still here." She exhaled the words quietly so that only he could hear.

"It hurts Sakura-Chan…it hurts in my heart."

"It always will."

"I hear a voice Sakura-chan. It's telling me to hurt. To finally sleep and set it free."

Sakura reached across the body of Yashamaru and pulled Gaara across for a hug. Both were shocked, as the sand didn't respond.

"Gaara-kun…we can never forget."

"But what if I want to?"

"Then you have just proven your human."

Gaara didn't respond. He just nuzzled closer to Sakura and sobbed.

"Gaara-kun, maybe we should make sure we don't forget."

"But how Sakura-Chan?"

"He said you would love only yourself. But you love me right?"

"Yes Sakura-Chan."

"Then prove him wrong. Show the world that you love only me. And I will show the world I love only you.

We will mark ourselves with love. For love is all that we truly want."

Gaara's response was muffled by Sakura's shirt but she understood.

Gaara slowly separated himself from here and summoned forth the sand.

Twirling upwards it floated around them in ribbons.

Suddenly the sand plunged forward, searing into the skin on their foreheads.

Sakura had the mark upon the right side and Gaara had the mark upon the left.

The night heaved as the sand heaved at the marking of its rulers.

The wind carried the sound of two young children's screams across the village. Together the scream united into one.

Twisting and twirling through the night a true demon was born.

From the hatred of kin, two children became one.

* * *

_There are times in our lives that change us. As I lay on that rooftop with Gaara bathing in our blood was one. _

_I don't know whether I changed for good or worse. But as we lay with a loved one's body between us we made more than just a vow of love and hatred. _

_We made a vow of strength. For as the moon rose higher in the sky we took our revenge. _

_A giant demon of sand rose in the heart of the village that day. Hundreds of civilians died trying to run and hundreds of shinobi died trying to contain it. _

_I rode upon the demons head with pride. I knew that nothing could harm us when we were together. _

_I knew that with two blackened hearts anything could be done. _

* * *

**(A/N) Hope you enjoyed it! And please review and tell me whether you liked future sakura's input!**

**~FoM**


	7. Chapter 6

**(A/N) Hope you enjoy! And sorry for taking so long to update! This chapter was hard to write.**

**I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

_The next time one of my loved ones died I was 10. Truth be told this death didn't effect me as much as Yashamaru's betrayal. _

_For by this point I had already lost too much._

_But this death was important as it gave us a third member for our deadly trio. _

_It was truly a sad day when __**KANKURO**__ died. _

_Temari was scared for life. In the middle of the night __**LEAF**__ Nin had snuck into Suna to try and weaken the Kazekage's will. _

_It appeared that they had decided to kill the only child he truly recognized as his own. _

_The blank masks of the attackers are eternally burned into my mind. Just as their proud Leaf symbol now shines in the fiery pits of my inner demon's personalized hell. _

_I hate those idiotic leaf ninja's with their honor and pride. __**THEY **__always acted so proud. As if nothing they did was ever wrong. With every step their oh so mighty village took they left thousands deserted behind them._

I began to hear the whispers then too. Whispers of a village cloaked_ in rain that hated the demon blessed Village of Leaf. The Leaf apparently hurt the Rain Village in one of its darkest hours. And now they hungered for revenge. _

_I knew also of the Village of Rock that hungered for the blood of the Yondaime Hokage. Apparently he had harmed them too. _

_The Village of the Leaf kept taking and taking. But the demon siblings and I would show them. _

_We would introduce them to a whole new world of terror. We would show them rivers of their own blood. _

_But first we had to gain our third member._

* * *

I awoke in the night to the sound of Gaara shuffling outside my door.

I knew it was Gaara by the way his sand swished in his gourd with each step and that I needed to wake by the fact that I could actually **_HEAR _**him for once; which meant this was important.

My eyes opened to the eerie black of my room. Truthfully if you hadn't seen my room in the daylight it was pretty scary.

Puppets dangled from the ceiling and hung from the walls. Some of them had appendages missing and others heavily damaged.

In my room I made all of my puppet parts, be it for myself or for whole puppets.

Along the walls, if you looked past the puppets, seals decorated the walls. If you couldn't feel the chakra humming through the seals that covered this whole apartment then you would think them just decorations.

I had moved with Gaara to the edge of town now. The apartment had called to us and Chiyo had provided me with sufficient money to get us started.

Gaara and I both took assassination and intelligence missions. Both offered a suitable profit and thus we had enough money to truly go wild on the interior decorating.

Gaara's room didn't have a bed, but it did have tons of bookshelves and a few lounging chairs. The room had an almost invisible layer of sand covering everything and a large desk that took up a corner of the room.

The two bedrooms connected up with an armory. Already completed puppet limbs lined the wall closest to my room and different shapes and sizes of gourds lined the other. Most people didn't realize that Gaara had to change his gourd regularly, it often got either too heavy or he couldn't feel it anymore for it was too light. Shukaku apparently also had a flair for fashion and made Gaara put designs and seals into some of his more special gourds.

The seals gave different properties to the gourds. Some of them were bottomless and others unbreakable.

Gaara and I have been working together to learn as much about sealing as we can. For even though Shukaku does tell lovely murder stories, he has to go. Not as in 'leave' go, but 'stop being so dominant in the seal' go.

Gaara still had trouble sleeping at night and I don't know what to do. He couldn't sleep and it didn't seem fair. Even if I suffered from constant nightmares in my sleep, I still had an escape.

* * *

_I never slept again after that day. I had shown too much lenience with visitors lately. It was __**ALL**__ my fault…_

* * *

Sometimes in the middle of the night Gaara would come into my room and sit on my bed next to me. It was his way of saying "I'm here and nothing is going to happen."

* * *

_I would wonder every night as I lay there if I was the reason behind his murder. I would accuse myself and curse my very name as I listened to Temari crying herself to sleep in the next room over. _

* * *

I quickly got out of bed and speedily changed into my ninja gear. It comprised of a fishnet shirt under a dusky gray t-shirt. Over top of that I wore a sandy brown trench coat. On my legs I wore slightly baggy shorts that came down to two inches above my knees with fishnets underneath. On my feet I wore the average black shinobi sandals.

Reaching over I ran my fingers through my extremely short pixie-cut hair. I had found out the hard way that long flowing hair was truly annoying to look after and was a pain to fight with. I also found out that having my hair short like this made it easier to blend in with my background.

I exited the room to come face to face with a nervous Gaara.

"I saw figures." Gaara whispers frantically to me. While Gaara has an excellent poker face he is actually quite easy to read if you know him well enough.

"Where?" We could basically read each other's thoughts at this point. Sadly we still required a slight verbal cue to understand the other.

"Two blocks north." Together we then jumped out the nearest window in true ninja fashion.

Taking to the roves we jumped and dove across the rooftops as Gaara directed us with the aide of his forever-loyal sand. Gaara and I were both growing increasingly nervous as the trail was leading us closer and closer to the Kazekage's mansion.

Meaning that the targets could only be four people or in other words Gaara, Temari, Kankuro and their dad.

Subconsciously this piece of information made them speed up their pace so that they could see the backs of their assailants as they hopped from roof to roof.

* * *

_They were playing cat and mouse. Little did we know but we were the mice._

* * *

Gaara and I increased our pace even further to attempt to catch up to the attackers and **_STOP_** them from reaching their target.

I counted down the rooftops until we reached the manor and it was game over for all of us. My short hair ruffled in the wind as we sped along.

Three more rooftops.

* * *

_Temari was never the same…_

* * *

Two more now, just two more.

* * *

_Her laughter faded. She didn't smile anymore._

* * *

Just one more rooftop!

* * *

_I miss the old Temari. The one who would laugh and play with Gaara, Kankuro and I. She hated the world, and everyone in it._

_Her eyes were filled with sadness of the sort that was only supposed to be seen in war veterans. _

_Her heart wasn't just black. It was an abyss that was never ending and always spiraling downwards. _

_In another time she might have remained a happy, if not slightly violent, soul. _

_But now she was one with the two demons of the sand. _

* * *

We jumped down in front of the Kazekage's mansion to see the two shadows waiting for us.

"You're too late." The shadow's voice sounded distorted. It was rougher than a cat scratching on a chalkboard.

"What do you me-" I didn't get to finish my sentence. For then Temari's scream filled the night and we all stopped.

* * *

_The scream was a signal. I never saw those two men again. But before they left they dropped something._

* * *

_It was a headband bearing the symbol of the leaf._

* * *

**(A/N) Hope you enjoyed! Review and tell me if you like the P.O.V. switching**

**~FoM**


	8. Chapter 7

**(A/N) Sorry for taking so long to upload :(**

**Anyways I don't own Naruto!**

* * *

_It wasn't until seven days later that we found out who the murderer was. _

_It had been Itachi Uchiha, it was confirmed by the red eyes Temari had seen after he killed Kankuro. _

_She had been standing in the doorway. It was the middle of the night and she had been thirsty. As she screamed the glass of water slipped from her hand and fell to the floor._

_The assailant, after having turned to stab their kunai into Kankuro's body, turned again and bent down to pick up the glass. _

_"Fate, is such a wonderful thing, ne?" I can quote those words from memory. For Temari whispers them to herself every time she kills someone. _

_He had said those words to her as he accidentally cut himself on the glass. _

_Four drops of his blood fell from the glass and hit the ground. Those four drops were all that Chiyo needed to confirm that it was an Uchiha that had killed Kankuro. And there was only one Uchiha left. _

_It had to be Kin-slayer Itachi. Known for killing every single member of his clan. Even his own mother, father and brother. _

**_HE KILLED SASUKE-KUN!_**

_The following two months after Kankuro's death were spent in a state of mad panic. ANBU were sent everywhere and we cut the treaty with Konoha. _

_The kazekage was furious about his favored son's death. He was so incredibly enraged that he lashed out at everything within sight. For days at a time he would leave the village and return afterwards soaked in blood._

_We found out years later that he had been killing civilians in random villages near our borders. He was already dead by then so we couldn't punish him._

_After Kankuro's death Gaara, Temari and I were officially given our Gennin rank and Baki became not just Temari's instructor but Gaara's and mine as well. _

_As Gennin we weren't aloud to go on our old A rank missions and were reduced to low C ranks. However even in C rank missions we proved ourselves worthy of titles. _

_Gaara became known for his formidable sand attacks, even though nobody ever survived to describe them. He was called 'Gaara of the Sand Waterfall.'_

_Temari was legendary in her control of her wind ninjutsu. She was a true prodigy and exalted as 'Temari of the Twisting Wind.'_

_I guess I got the lamest title of all, which was saying something. Apparently someone found out about my missing limbs and decided that my title would be 'Sakura of the Puppet Limbs.' I hated the name. It was a reminder of the black hole in my heart that constantly kept hurting and throwing out information. It was a reminder of my ultimate failure to remember what had happened to me. _

_I hated it with all of my black heart. _

_However the only title that I liked was what they decided to call our team. Together we were exalted as a true show of Suna's capabilities. Together we were called the 'Sand Siblings.'_

_I loved it for they considered the three of us to be related. _

_Apparently our parents were a blond and a red-head so they ended up with the combination of red, blond and pink! _

_Aside from people mistaking our relations our lives were pretty mundane for two years. Before once again my life was filled with the horror of the leaf. _

_We had been ordered to go and attend the Chunin Exams. In Konoha._

* * *

"You're a black-hearted teme Baki!"

"Just get a move on. We can't be late."

A sigh was heard in the background.

"I was sleeping! And you dumped a bucket of SAND on me! Do you know how itchy that stuff is!"

"I'm covered in sand all the time."

"Yeah well that's because you're Gaara!"

"I don't see what that has to do with me being covered in sand."

"WILL YOU TWO BAKAS JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!"

"Well your not really innocent are you Sakura?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're the one who gave Baki the idea!"

"Hn,"

"What's that supposed to mean!"

"Shut up."

"Why don't you shut up!"

"Because were at Konoha and I'm not the one yelling."

Immediately the group snapped to attention to see the gates looming upon the horizon.

They had been arguing back and forth for hours since they had started off that morning from their camp.

"Alright team, listen up! Here's the game plan… We kick as much butt as possible before the invasion. And then we follow the plan! Got it?" Temari whispered mockingly.

She was greeted with silence so she sighed and shut up.

Together the group walked up to the gate in intense silence.

The gate loomed up over there heads due to its immense height.

Together the Sand Siblings and Baki walked through the massive gates and over to the guard station.

"We're here for the Chunin Exams."

Baki's voice startled the guards to attention. The 'Siblings' remained impassive.  
Baki showed the guards their papers before they were waved through with boredom. Baki rummaged through his pouches for the name of their hotel while the siblings turned into a huddle and began to talk.

"I hate this place," Said Sakura.

"I do too," Agreed Gaara.

"Oh will you two brighten up! We're here in an enemy village! Let's do some investigating." Temari's voice was happy and preppy, hiding her true sadness and fright at being in the murderer of Kankuro's village.

"We need the location of the hotel first." Sakura corrected her.

The three exited their huddle as Baki finally found the name of their hotel. He dismissed them quickly off to see the village before vanishing.

"Let's go," Gaara was the unofficial leader of their team. He was the strongest in full-out combat; with Sakura being the strongest if given three minutes of preparation. Temari was their support member. She was the one who did all the damage while Gaara and Sakura made the kills.

Together the trio walked calmly along glancing sometimes from side to side to examine the shops.

The crowd seemed to sense the killing-intent that was calmly radiating off Temari as she walked to the right of Gaara. Her face was calm and collected with a pleasant smile fixed on her lips.

She wore a dark blue kimono with a red obi and two red straps on her shoulders. Upon her feet rested the standard black shinobi open-toed sandals.

Her hair was pulled back into its usual four ponytails. On her lower arm 'Kankuro, My Brother" was tattooed in harsh writing that was styled to look like it was written in blood.

Sakura walked to the left of Gaara. Her limbs were currently set in diplomatic mode. Or in other words they were black and covered in glowing gold seals.

Her outfit consisted of a mesh long-sleeved shirt under a red t-shirt. Over the shirt she wore a black trench coat. On her legs she had a pair of not too lose not too tight black pants on. She had a red belt strapped along her waist. It was covered with storage seals for her puppets. Storage seals also covered her normal arm and rimmed the disks that attached her limbs to the stubs where the old ones used to be.

She too wore the open-toed shinobi sandals.

Sakura's hair was still cropped to a pixie cut. She had dyed small stripes in her hair red. Her love scar stood out on her forehead.

Gaara walked between the two girls wearing the same mesh shirt as Sakura with a black t-shirt on instead. He had a beige chest-guard on with straps connecting his gourd to it. He also wore black pants and wore the same black shoes.

His red hair was still as wild and short as ever. His scar and identical clothing showed how close he and Sakura really are.

Together the three looked truly fearsome. So when they were walking along and a little kid ran into Sakura, everyone tensed.

* * *

**(A/N)** **PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! Just so ya know, Sasuke is dead. I REALLY hate the dude. I needed Itachi in the village and I didn't want to deal with Uchiha politics. Anyways this lead to the problem of having to replace two people on Team Seven...I hope you enjoy the next chapter :)**

**Oh and I know Sakura hasn't really been featured all that much thus far but in the Exams she'll be focused on. I just needed to set up the dynamics for Team Sand Siblings. **

**Also...take a guess at who the black italic voice is... :)**

**Thanks for reviewing but Bob the review button feels neglected. Please aide his cause by clicking him :)**

**~FoM**

**P.S. the reason it took so long is because I'm working on a new story...It's for Avatar: The Lost Airbender :) **


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